Sleepy Thicket

[lesbianism]

♡ r i p p l e p e l t
she/her - 120 moons - RiverClan - lesbian - tags; @celeste
____________________________________

"Well done! You're a quick learner," Ripplepelt mewed, giving the vole an investigative sniff. "It'll make a fine edition to the fresh-kill pile. Don't forget to give thanks to StarClan for your catch, then bury it so we don't attract any unwanted visitors while we continue hunting."

Satisfied with Mistypaw's quick progress, Ripplepelt's attention turned to hunting some more. She'd keep within earshot of the apprentice in case she needed a hand, but she wasn't too worried, and she wanted to take advantage of the sun while it was still out.

[roll perception: nat 20]

Ripplepelt almost immediately spotted a vole, still valiantly holding onto its green-leaf weight despite the moons that had passed. She was reminded of the fat water vole she had missed on her hunting patrol and licked her maw. A chance to redeem her missed catch!

[roll to catch: 15]

She crept forward, very careful not to make any noise that would scare the thing away. The last thing she wanted was a repeat - though at least she wouldn't end up with wet whiskers if she failed this time round. As she got closer, the vole stiffened, ready to flee. Wasting no time, Ripplepelt darted forward and gave it the killing bite before it could scamper away.

She went and dug up her other catches, pleased with herself. Three catches in leaf-bare wasn't shabby at all! A squirrel, shrew, and vole richer, she padded quietly back to Mistypaw to check on her progress.

[starry]

Mistypaw

image credit to @/aspen.

riverclan apprentice | 35 moons | mind reader: perm active

Mistypaw gave a quick nod, looking up at the sky. Thank you StarClan. Thank you Stormtalon, and Fawnlight, and Hazelstorm. Thanks Blizzardwind, and everyone else. Tears were threatening to break through as she thought of StarClan. Taking a deep breath, she went to bury the prey somewhat close to where Ripplepelt had buried hers. She used her front paw to loosen up the dirt, then carefully place the vole in it. After covering it with dirt again, she sniffed the air. Hm.. the scent of a squirrel was protruding, but she could also smell some mouse in the background. It was probably a better idea to go for the mouse first, as that was a much easier catch.

She quietly started going in the direction of the mouse, dropping into a crouch as she got closer to the prey. Misty held her breath as she saw the mouse scurrying around, moving closer to it, but then.. crunch. Ughh, a leaf! The mouse hurried away. She briefly tried chasing after it but soon realized it didn't bring much. It was time to go for the squirrel then, she guessed. I can do this! she thought with determination in her eye.

Her nose close to the ground, she followed the scentof the squirrel. Alright, it was there, digging a whole in the ground, presumably to bury an acorn. Mistypaw dropped into a crouch, being careful not to step on any leaves now. Okay, get closer to it, and then.. leap! Her claws unsheathed as she dropped down on the squirrel, which wiggled for a moment, but then she moved her head down and gave it a quick killing bite. A smile spread on her maw as she realized she'd just killed a squirrel, that was pretty good! She gave a brief thanks to StarClan, not allowing herself to get all emotional this time, and padded back to Ripplepelt.

"First I tried to catch a mouse, but I stepped on a leaf and it ran away because of the noise," she reported. "But then I managed to catch a squirrel." The tabby molly went to dig up the vole, then looked at the warrior. "Thank you for teaching me, Ripplepelt," she meowed. "I suppose we're done here and heading back to camp?"

@lesbianism

[lesbianism]

♡ r i p p l e p e l t
she/her - 121 moons - RiverClan - lesbian - tags; @celeste
____________________________________

"A squirrel! Well done," she mewed, impressed. "Perhaps our clan should be hunting here more often with how well we've done for ourselves today!" She had definitely redeemed herself in her own eyes after her failed hunting patrol with this haul, especially the squirrel she'd caught.

"It was a pleasure," Ripplepelt purred. "You're a model apprentice. I'm sure your warrior ceremony won't be far off with how quickly you picked that up. Let's get this prey home." She collected her catches, satisfied with what she'd managed.

[Kass]

Dunepaw - fast learner
female (MtF) | 10 moons | apprentice
Massive golden furred she cat with a brown eye and a foggy gray one. A few scars litter her flank and right paw.

The usual feeling of prickling guilt is what brought the golden-furred cat out into the space alone this cold winters day. Bracing the chilling snow beneath her paws, the large Maine coon trodded forwards on numbs paws. Her long silky tail left a dragging trail in the snow behind her. Dunepaw had been having the same reoccurring nightmares for the past two months. Why me? Why now of all times?! I thought I was getting BETTER! while her emotions left her blind she stumbled over a fallen branch and crashed into the ground below her.

Shaking the snow from her fur dunepaw, she gently eased herself back into a sitting position. She felt not a shred of desire to move or do anything of late. And probably because she knew this time of year would’ve been her brothers' favorite season. That is if she hadn’t killed him with her own paws. I’m sorry… I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I-I had no choice. It was either you or both of us.mother would’ve killed us all. guilt gripped her with its icy talons and refused to let go.

Forcing herself to stand on her paws again, she found the courage to keep moving until she reached the frozen riverside.

@Tecumori

( she’s going through some things TvT )

[starry]

Mistypaw

image credit to @/aspen.

riverclan apprentice | 35 moons | mind reader: perm active

The tabby molly nodded. "Yeah, there's a lot of prey around here! I think some cats might be a little scared because of the ghost story," she replied with a light chuckle. "Thank you! Yeah, I hope so." With that, she picked up her two catches, a satisfied smile spreading on her maw. She started to head home, happy with how this went.

@lesbianism

[lesbianism]

♡ r i p p l e p e l t
she/her - 121 moons - RiverClan - lesbian - tags; @celeste
____________________________________

"I'm sure StarClan wouldn't let a spirit hang around on the territory. The ghost story is probably nothing but that - a story. Still, I suppose it is a little creepy here," Ripplepelt admitted.

"Of course. And if you ever need another lesson, I'm happy to teach you," she mewed. Ripplepelt was sure Birdsnow was a wonderful mentor, but between her new deputy duties, two apprentices, and having only been an apprentice herself a few moons ago, she probably had her paws full. Besides, she enjoyed helping out with the apprentice training.

____________________________________

[I've submitted our catches to the rc freshkill pile! want to finish this up here? ^-^]

[Tecumori]

Lionpaw - 100/100
RC | App | He/Him | 9m
Silver Tongue | Go With The Flow

Lionpaw hadn't expected to be out of camp again so soon, mainly because no warrior cared enough to actually take him out into the territory. But when he saw Dunepaw sneaking out into the territory alone he couldn't ignore the intrigue that pushed its way into his mind and had to tag along.

Apprentices weren't allowed to leave the camp without a warrior, so what reason did she have to put herself at risk for punishment or possibly even demotion? Whatever it was Lionpaw felt entitled to know. He certainly didn't have anything better to do, and if any cat asked he could just lie and say he was worried for her well-being.

So he followed after her, making use of the stealth crouch Larkstar had shown him. Lionpaw was confident he wouldn't be spotted by the lumbering feline, crawling a sizable distance behind her and making sure to keep his scent downwind. He snorted to himself as Dunepaw tripped over a branch, almost giving away his position. It was obvious by now that Dunepaw wasn't trying to hunt anything, nor did she have enough wits about her to be patrolling the territory. So then, what was she up to?

Lionpaw was determined to find out and so continued to trail after the unusually large apprentice until suddenly she began to speak to herself aloud. From what he could glean from her words it sounded like she had hurt someone she cared about, a littermate perhaps...

Their journey continued on after that until finally Dunepaw stopped at the frozen banks of the river. Lionpaw sat and waited in some nearby bushes, but when nothing of interest was happening he abandoned his hiding spot and walked up to stand behind Dunepaw. He coughed to reveal his presence before getting straight to the point of his inquiry.

"What do you think you're doing out here?" He said with a sense of authority that had no business being there.

"And what in the clans were you talking about earlier? You didn't... kill someone... did you?" He hesitated before asking about the last part, unsure if Dunepaw was the type to 'silence' others for poking around in buried matters. She had mentioned harming someone beforehand, so Lionpaw wouldn't have been surprised if she suddenly jumped at him for snooping around like this.

Not that he was scared or anything! If it came down to it Lionpaw would fight like all of LionClan to defend himself... and most certainly win, of course!

@Kass

--- Image credits go to SableSteel; Author of Clangen ---

[Forgetfulshape]

A rather confused-looking outsider with black fur and blue eyes (melanistic) wandered into the place. This was Coal, and she unfortunately had recently wound up with Amnesia. Fortunately, she'd never been to Riverclan before. However... She saw two apprentices and quietly backed away. She feared being hurt often. Treestripe had been passing by with Smolderpaw for a training session when the two saw the strange cat. "And just what do you think you're doing in Riverclan territory? More importantly, who are you?" Smolderpaw asked politely.
"I-I don't remember who I am... I simply followed a scent I'd found out of curiosity and it led me here..." Coal meowed in terror.
"Well even if you can't remember who you are I'm afraid I can't let you just freely roam around the territory, so I must ask you to leave." He meowed politely to the she-cat, even leading her to the outskirts and watching her leave. Smolderpaw watched his mentor in awe.

[Kass]

Dunepaw

When a sudden cough sounded behind her dune’s head swiveled slightly, so she could catch a glance of the Tom cat behind her. I’m simply here to visit an old friend. as she spoke she lifted a paw and motioned towards a large rock formation beside the river. Killed someone? she mused on lionpaws words for a while, chewing the inside of her cheek before replying. I suppose I have.unfortunately it was under terrible circumstances such as killed or be killed, and so I chose to take the route that led to me being alive. Wouldn’t you have done the same? And if you really think about it, won’t we kill in the future just for the sake of our clan? For our family.for ourselves?

She had managed to take his question, provide an answer while also questioning him. This world that we live in.tell me, does it truly decide our fates for us? Does it judge us for murder or for the things we have done to protect those we love? A mother would kill anyone who tries to harm their kit, right? So what if it was the mother who was harming the kit to begin with?

She motioned to a spot next to her sit if you want. I’m not going to harm you unless you’ve done something against the riverclan. And more importantly, I refuse to kill anyone unless he’s killed or killed.

Watching her breaths turn into billowing white swirls then fade away, she allowed it to fall upon them. he looks like a sandpaw…in a way, he and the lion's paw are similar but different at the same time.

@Tecumori

[Tecumori]

Lionpaw - 100/100
RC | App | He/Him | 9m
Silver Tongue | Go With The Flow

"Well, uhm... I can assure you that I have no plans of harming my own birth clan," Lionpaw was suspicious. He didn't trust Dunepaw's vague answers and rhetorical questions, and to say the least it unnerved him. He had to take a moment to think of what to say-- unusal for a chatter-box like him-- in hopes of not setting the feline off.

Lionpaw liked to think he was as noble and selfless as a true warrior ought to be, but if push came to shove and he found himself in a position of life or death... with the life of another's hanging in the balance of his paws... Could he be pushed to save himself over them?

Well, he supposed it'd depend on whose life was on the line. A loner, a rogue, even a kitty-pet's life meant little to him: Same for those from other clans. But from what this she-paw was getting at it was clear she hadn't just killed some random outsider, but rather someone close and dearly beloved.

"Killed or be killed, huh? I can't say that 'killing for our kin' and actually 'killing' our kin could be considered the same thing..." Lionpaw took a hesitant step forward at her offer to sit, though put a good distance between them. The fur on his neck stood on end as he reluctantly sat a tail-length away from Dunepaw. Lionpaw was younger and undoubtedly smaller than the she-paw, and sitting so close to her revealed that blatant difference in size.

"So... who exactly is this friend your visting? Is it the one you killed?" Her wording was just vague enough for Lionpaw to miss the meaning. It left him unable to discern whether the friend in question was alive or not, and Lionpaw-- being his usual inconsiderate self-- didn't stop to think that his words might offend the she-cat.

@Kass (- forgive his rudeness! It takes a while for him to warm up to others. he also has like zero filter on what he says -)

--- Image credits go to SableSteel; Author of Clangen ---